Danny Willett returns to the scene of his greatest triumph this week confident that hard work can see him claim more Major Championship glory.
The Englishman produced a brilliant closing 67 to win the Masters Tournament last season and claim his first Major in the stunning and historic surroundings of Augusta National.
Willett has since achieved top five finishes at the BMW PGA Championship and the Italian Open but would be the first to admit that his game has not hit the incredible heights of that Sunday in April.
He remains convinced he can get back to golf's top table, however, and believes the journey back down Magnolia Lane can only be a benefit this week.
"You've achieved the greatest height in your game," he said. "You have got to the pinnacle. You've climbed Everest and you've put your flag in. Unfortunately, you've got to either climb down or stay up there and it's incredibly difficult to stay up there all the time.
"The pressure has obviously been more from myself. You get a little bit of outward pressure and, obviously, it's a public game. We're on the first tee on Thursday morning and there's millions of people watching and if you don't hit it good, a million people see you hit it poorly and it's not nice. It's not a nice feeling to not hit good golf shots when you know what you can do.
"So I think the pressure has been slightly different and the game has obviously not been as good as I wanted it to be these last 12 months but we're still working hard and if you work hard, there is that little bit of inevitability there sooner or later that you have to kind of crack in and get back to where you've been.
As long as the work ethic stays good, you keep ticking your boxes, then it's only a matter of time - Danny Willett
"I've always said, as long as the work ethic stays good, you keep ticking your boxes, then it's only a matter of time. Unfortunately, it's not kind of dropped into place yet but I'm still only 29 years old and I've got a long career.
"Coming back Saturday, we drove down Magnolia Lane and we came and just walked about nine and hit a few shots and it was really nice. It was nice and serene to walk around. We dropped a few balls down where we hit the chip on 17 and a couple of other shots that we hit.
"Not so much a spring in your step, you can't change your game like that just because you come in and you feel better about it. You've still got to work hard and you've still got to make good golf swings.
"Definitely the feelings of being back are ones that are happy. It's a great place to be."
While Willett will be all business when he tees it up on Thursday morning, the title of Masters Tournament champion comes with a lot of ceremonial baggage and he is soaking it all in, from the Champions Locker Room to the Champions Dinner, where he will be serving Cottage Pies, Sunday Roast and Apple Crumble.
"You save the number one spot for the defending champion, you get the number one badge," he added. "Everything they do here is first class. To come back and to be in that position and to be welcomed as we have been has been amazing.
"I think the evening's going to be tremendous. I think it's 34 guys sat in a room. You know, obviously we see each other as fellow golfers, friends. But to be part of that group, you know, this is the 81st Masters.
"Obviously there's been a few champions that have passed away but there's only been 81 Green Jackets and a few of them guys have obviously got a few. To be able to sit in a room with the legends of the game, past and present, is going to be something special."
